


Why Are You Looking At Me Like That?

by this is not my name (thisisnotmyname)



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Blood, Brief Solas, Gen, Hinterlands Bears, Iron Bull is a Good Friend, Language, Modern Girl in Thedas, Rage, Sera Being Sera, Violence, Will the Hinterlands ever end?, had enough with this shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-22 07:02:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12476024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisisnotmyname/pseuds/this%20is%20not%20my%20name
Summary: Nina, while being tolerant of most of the other shit that has happened since becoming a MGiT (goddamn did she hate that trope now), has had enough of this shit. Stuck in the mother-loving Hinterlands AGAIN.





	Why Are You Looking At Me Like That?

**Author's Note:**

> one shot, can be read alone. possibly more to come on this character. lemme know what you think ya'll.

  Nina was angry. No, not angry, Nina Taylor of Los Angeles was motherfucking _pissed_. It was one thing when Herald Trevelyan had said that she was off to the Hinterlands. Again. It was another when she said she would be dragging Nina along with her. _Again_. And there they were, just outside of the farmstead, being chased by bears. AGAIN. Nina, long time player of the Dragon Age franchise and mildly unashamed Modern Girl In Thedas (and boy, did she have a shit fit when _that_ particular gem hit her, as she was half-listening to Solas give her some lesson on focusing past the veil or something), already had a special bit of hate in her heart for the Hinterlands. Hours upon hours of gameplay, replay after replay, she’d long since been tired of the everloving _Hinterlands_. And that was just in the virtual world, but in person? They journey from Haven to the area wasn’t too bad, but having to go again was already wearing upon her already thin patience. Still, Nina could understand. She knew the general layout of the area, of a good portion of the grievances and ‘side-quests’ that would come up. It had given her  so much pleasure when she had told them that they would be not only hunting down a missing druffalo, but also to keep an eye out for a very specific, very special Lord Woolsley. Nina knew that she could help people that had been virtual constructs, but were now so very real. This, she could understand.

  
  But dragging her through the area, instead of just leaving her at the crossroads, despite her marking the maps for them? Oh, she made sure that she had only marked the less… game-changing things. And that had been a discussion in and of itself, convincing everyone just how bad it would be if she told them _every single thing that could happen_. Which had happened only after she had convinced them that she was not:

  * A demon/abomination
  * A madwoman
  * An oracle sent by the Maker to help the Herald
  * Skilled enough to have any real applicable skills to the scenario



  If Nina never saw another dungeon or had to go through another interrogation again, it would be too soon. On the other hand, at least she wasn’t stuck with the Glowing Mark of Doom (patent pending) like Evelyn. Luckily enough, Evelyn seemed a good enough person, when compared to the possibilities of what could have been. Better a kind-hearted Lady Trevelyan than the ruthless scenarios that even she’d created before. Nina had been sure to share such scenarios with the others in the burgeoning Inner Circle. While the looks on their faces were priceless (“Consider,” she had posited, “A lady of the Cadash family, perhaps a rogue, who had no care for gathering a kinder view from the people of Thedas? Or perhaps a man from the Clan Lavellan who could not care less about the Breach, let alone the lives of anyone person he saw?”), Nina herself took no pleasure in the theory herself. Afterall, she would’ve been stuck with such a person too, wouldn’t she? Still, it was gratifying that her hypothesis and telling had leant a kinder Inner Circle to Evelyn herself. The warrior hadn’t much noticed that there had been a distance between herself and the others before, preferring her some books and her training. Still, it seemed that the Inner Circle had started to treat Evelyn with just that little bit more of kindness and respect that eased the burden upon her shoulders just that little bit more.

  
  And yet, and yet. Despite all of that, despite the sisterly love that Nina had started to feel for the Herald herself, the otherworlder could not help the rage and resentment that welled within her. She was still _pissed_ that despite the minimal training she had received (and really, it was just enough to keep herself demon-free and alive in the harsher conditions of Thedas), Evelyn had decided that _yes_ she needed to come with them back to the Hinterlands. That is, accompany herself, Bull, Varric, Sera, and Solas (because while Nina was showing promise in the Healing Arts, Solas would still be some help and she _still needed more training_ ). At least Vivienne had not been chosen to come along too. That was just a personality that Nina could not endure.

  
 To be fair, the journey from Haven to the Hinterlands wasn’t too terribly long, and Nina had gotten used to the horses. As it was, Evelyn’s mischievous nature was exponentially magnified when paired with Sera’s puckish nature. Then there was Solas, who was just that side of snide and righteous enough that Nina had often daydreamed of setting his coattails afire before he would do so himself. And while Bull could be staid and solid against the wild nature of the girls and Solas’ dick-ishness, the mercenary had his own moments where Nina had thought about displaying his rack above her own fireplace one day. And that was just the personalities of her companions. That did not take into account the random and pervasive nature of the bandits, rogue templars, and mad mages. And the bears.

  
  Oh, Nina had hoped that the number of bears was just a joke, just another function of the game. There hadn’t even been that many bears in the wilds of her state, let alone her country. But no, there really were that many bears, and it seemed as though any creature of an Ursine nature had declared the Inquisition as bear-kind Enemy Number One. Of course, this wouldn’t be such a problem if they weren’t such a large party already, and apparently extra members meant that there would an extra helping of trouble.

“Berries, down!” a rough voice shouted, and Nina obligingly hit the deck.

  She did not consider the dirt in her mouth and the cuts on her face, so much as the sharp whistling sound of one of Bianca’s bolts flying over her head and embedding itself into the shoulder of the bear that had decided to the be the bear-y hero of the moment. Well, that, and just how annoyed she was that that particular nickname had been the one to stick. The suggestion had been first planted in Varric’s mind when, looking for someone to do some pseudo-secretary work for him, Nina had replied that she’d be his “Huckleberry”. That had then led to a rather in depth discussion about the O.K. Corral, a vague recounting of _The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn_ , and then an agreement to just pass over any odd-phrasing that slipped out from time to time. But that had not been what really cemented the name into everyone’s mind. Instead, it had been post-discussion in the tavern, where Nina had been reminiscing about the flavor of Huckleberry wine (they had it in Thedas too, it was simply the references that they didn’t get) and had been unceremoniously shoved over by a newer recruit who thought he was tough-shit. Nina, by nature, was not overly confrontational, but the early embarrassment and then the wine she _had_ been drinking had given her enough courage to step toe-to-toe with the arsehole who thought he was the best thing since grilled nug. The subsequent shouting match and solid right-hook that she had planted in the soldier’s face had earned her the stupid nickname. According to Varric, it was because she had “Huckle _berries_ to spare.”

  
  Normally, as inane as the nickname was, it didn’t bother Nina. Instead, she was rather pleased that Varric liked her enough to even give her one. But in the heat of battle, with some furry monstrosity bearing down on her, and all the weight of every comment, every crude joke, every sneer and criticism on technique, and Sera’s own cackling still ringing in her ears? Nina had officially had **enough**.The rage that been slowly simmering beneath her skin, had come to a roiling boil, fueling the flames that were now gushing from her staff and onto the _very_ mistaken bear before her. Her vision narrowed, red hazing in as she turned her burning gaze to the target for her anger.

“I’ve motherfucking had it!”

  The bear reared back, and seemed as though it might try to retreat from the no longer tantalizing prospect of bringing them down. Nina, however, was far from done. Instead, she rushed towards the bear, leaning down and picked up a sword (no doubt dropped from an earlier bout with some templars) before heaving it as hard she could through coat and into flesh and bone. At first, it seemed as though she was using her staff to counterbalance the weight of the blade, but then she cast it aside, favoring the feel of the blade hacking in and out of the bear.

“You want some of this??”

  She did not notice the blood and gore that was being sprayed onto herself and her surroundings. Did not notice it’s warmth or the heat of the flames that lingered after her initial burst.

“You thought you were such hot shit, coming after me? Well now you’re DEAD HOT SHIT!”

  Nina neither heard nor cared about the silence of the others, as they watched her vent her rage on the rather pitiful creature before her. Instead, she still spat out words as she hauled the sword over and over, huffing and puffing.

“Fucking,” swing, “Get some,” pant, “Bitch as Winnie-the-Pooh not gonna get me!”

  She flung the sword away and reached for her staff, unleashing another gout of flame onto the otherwise very dead enemy.

“I’m a goddamn High Fucking Dragon, bitch, and now you’re gonna fucking roast!”

  Nina stood there, panting and trembling as she watched the smouldering remains of the bear crumble to ash. A faint breeze wafted the flames closer, still she didn’t notice. She doubted there would be any usable hide, more’s the pity. Her sight and hearing was focused solely on the target, even the smell of burning flesh and fur was muted. So intense was her focus, that she did not hear Bull approach behind her and jumped nearly a foot when he put a hand on her shoulder. Bull leaned back easily, dodging the bladed end of her staff, but Nina still felt as though he came just a little too close to losing his remaining eye.

“Bull!”

“Easy little atashi,” He gave her a small smile and began to pull her away from her kill. “Bear’s dead. Staff, please?”

  He kept his other hand on her shoulder, giving Nina an anchor that she didn’t realize that she needed. Slowly, she could start to hear the silence of the clearing and the gentle crackling of the fire. The faint red that had been edging her vision began to recede, though she kept her eyes forward. She handed over the weapon easily, and only began to register the silence of the others and the weight of their stares. Instead of letting her linger at the scene, Bull pulled Nina towards the creek, not giving her enough time to really notice what was going on with their companions. She hardly noticed him handing the staff over to a pale-faced Solas, instead side-eyeing the Ben-Hassrath as he led her to the water.

“Anyone hurt?” Nina finally gritted out.

“Nah, they’re all fine and you don’t need to worry. Solas’ll handle it.” Bull spoke low and calm, easing the lingering tension in Nina. Still pulling her away from the rage that had taken her over so quickly.

  Nina grunted as they eased their way down the bank and to the water’s edge. Bull sat on a low rock in the sun and began to clean his great-axe, keeping watch while Nina kneeled nearly in the water. The crisp, clean scent of the stream highlighted the stench that was rolling off of herself. As she started to wash the blood and dirt off her hands and face, she could faintly hear the others.

“Dead hot shit?” Sera’s cackling could be heard on the wind and Nina groaned while Bull chuckled to himself. Perhaps she could try to drown herself in the shallow water?

“I want to know more about ‘Winnie-the-Pooh’,” this came from Varric and Nina gave into impulse, plunging her face into the cold stream. She came up for air not too long after and shook the water from her face.

“I didn’t say all of that out loud, did I?”

  She looked over to Bull and groaned again at his smirk.

“Even Boss thought it was pretty funny.” There was still laughter making it’s way to their ears.

“She would.” Nina cupped her hands and began on the back of her neck and ears.

“Feel better?” she didn’t need to look up at him, to know that he was looking at her without really seeing.

  Nina sighed and watched blood and dirt swirl away down the wate. She sat back on her heels and stared into her hands, wondering when she became so used to this kind of life. Where had the girl from the city gone? How shallow her life then seemed to life she lived now.

“Yeah, ‘m just tired.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Later?”

“Alright.”

  That is what Nina liked best about Bull. Unless she flew off the handle again, he knew enough to let her set the pace on most things. And though heart to hearts with Bull made her feel like a petulant teenager (she was a grown woman for fuck’s sake!), she knew that talking it out would be better served sooner than later. She looked up at him, watching as he put his axe back into the holster on his back before standing and stretching. He came closer and offered a hand to haul her up. Nina accepted and squeaked before laughing a little as he practically made her fly from the ground to her feet.

“You’ll be alright.”

“Yeah.”

  Nina stretched a little and looked back to her hands. They were only slightly raw from handling the sword so vigorously, and no doubt Cassandra would later have words with her about incorporating some blade training into her schedule. Perhaps she could use Vivienne and some ‘Circle Study Time’ as an excuse? Then again, the offworlder mused to herself, perhaps I haven’t changed so much.

“It’s just… I’m not really cut out for this kind of life, you know?”

“Mmhmm.” They began to walk back to the others, taking their time going back up the hill.

“And I know that no one has any choice in this. Everyone is at risk, we could all die from stupid glowing butthole in the sky! But…”

“But?”

“It doesn’t help when the pile of shit to deal with just keeps growing. I know I don’t have a lot of room to complain about anything, I mean, look at Evelyn! She’s got so much more to worry about than I do. What right do I have to feel sorry or angry about?”

  Bull sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face before pausing the both of them. He looked out to where everyone seemed to be waiting for them, before turning that gaze onto Nina.

“It’s shitty, that’s true. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have the right to feel overwhelmed. We all do, and it’s better that you took it out on that bear before you did it to us.” He smiled a little, before placing his hand on her shoulder yet again, fingers curling easily over her shoulder. Nina leaned into his touch, taking the comfort that he gave so easily. “Just, next time? Talk to one of us?”

“Yeah, okay.” Nina stepped closer and leaned her forehead against his chest, glad that Bull let her have this. That he trusted her enough for this.

“You’re a scary sonuvabitch, but you’re pretty awesome.”

  She felt more than heard his laugh, before feeling his arm curl around her. She breathed in his scent, something masculine and warm. Steel and blood, oil and leather, and something purely Bull.

“You too, Berries.”

“I really need to work on focusing betweening what’s in my head and what comes outta my mouth.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it. Gives the others a chance to know what’s ticking behind those eyes of yours.”

“Because, of course you already know?” She leaned back to raise an eyebrow at him.

“Of course.” he agreed.

“Thanks Bull.”

“No problem. Best to get back before they think the High Fucking Dragon got to me too.”

  Nina gave a little giggle as she disentangled herself from The Iron Bull. She was smiling even as she took a page from Cassandra’s book.

“Ugh.”

  She pushed away from him, and he swayed a little to give her the illusion of strength. Nina knew it was false, but it helped lift her mood a little more. She’d need to levity to deal with everyone else again, but maybe they’d give her a little more space after today.


End file.
